Relationship Repairs
by elsiecarson
Summary: Harry returns from his business trip and is relieved to see his family at the airport to pick him up. He knows he and Karen have to talk things through and he's worried, but he knows he has to be honest and face the consequences, whatever they may or may not be.
1. Coming Home and Conversation

Harry sighs as he enters his house after returning from Heathrow Airport. He wasn't sure he was going to be back here after his stupid actions at Christmas. He watches his children, Bernie and Daisy, run out the door to play with friends down the street. Harry takes his suitcase upstairs and pulls out all his dirty laundry and puts it in the hamper before he heads back downstairs. He hears his wife, Karen, mucking around in the kitchen. He smells mint, and assumes that his wife has made herbal tea which is what she always does when she's upset. He's dreading this conversation. He doesn't want to hear that he has to leave his children and Karen, but Karen won't tolerate his behaviour and she shouldn't have to. He's still not sure why he did what he did.

Karen pauses as she hears Harry enter the kitchen. She's not sure how to begin this conversation. She's turned it over many times in her mind since Harry left on his trip. "We need to talk." Karen says as she pours the two of them a cup of peppermint tea. For several days after Harry left on his business trip she was still pouring two cups of tea all the time.

"Yes, we need to talk about many things." Harry says as he takes his mug and walks into the living room. He slumps into his usual place on the couch. It feels like home.

"You look tired." Karen says as she comes and sits next to Harry. She noticed that when she first saw him at the airport. She really loves him despite everything and she knows, in her heart, Harry didn't physically cheat on her which somehow makes everything better although the emotional betrayal hurts too.

"I haven't exactly been sleeping well. I wasn't sure if you were even going to be here when I got home. I didn't even sleep on the plane and I always sleep on the plane. I should have talked to you before I left. I was a coward not to." Harry says as he sips his hot tea. "Oh, my first decent cup of tea in a month. This is very good, Karen."

"Harry, I'm not going to leave you and I'm not going to ask you to leave. I love you despite the pain you've caused me recently. I only have three questions to ask you. Did you sleep with Mia? Why did you do it? Am I not good enough for you? Did you think about your family at all?" Karen asks as she sits her tea down and puts her hand over Harry's gently. She wants him to look at her which he hasn't managed to do yet.

"I swear to you, Karen, I never slept with Mia. She gave me the opportunity to, but I never did. I wasn't tempted by her that way. I only have eyes for you, though Mia had her eyes on me from the start. I was flattered by her attentions, but I never wanted her the way she wanted me. She was young and obsessed with me. I didn't think she'd go as far as she did. She's a master manipulator. She didn't care how far she went with me or who saw what she was trying to do or whether she broke up my family. She flirted with me in front of you! I didn't think dancing with Mia would be wrong, but I should have just danced with you. I felt attractive. I haven't felt that way for a long time. She made it so easy. I feel so manipulated. Mia played her role perfectly. I made some phone calls to Mia's former bosses. She's done this before. She's been dismissed from her last five jobs because of similar behaviour." Harry says as he finishes his tea. He sets the mug down on the table in front of him.

"Why wasn't that in her file? I don't think anyone would hire her if they knew about her behaviour. Why didn't you feel attractive? You're handsome, Harry. I've never heard you complain about your looks before. I still think that you're sexy, Harry. I just thought that you didn't find me attractive." Karen says as she leans her head on Harry's shoulder.

"You can't be serious that you still find me attractive. You turn away from me when I try to make love to you. You don't think I find you attractive anymore? That's ridiculous. You're beautiful, Karen, I've always found you gorgeous and I always will. Yes, you've changed over the years, but my body has changed over the years too. Just because your body has changed doesn't mean you're not beautiful. You've had two kids. Things change. I've never found you unattractive. I just thought you found me unattractive." Harry says quietly.

"I think we've both been very silly. The only ones who found us unattractive were ourselves. We need to remind ourselves to talk to each other. No more Mia incidents for either of us." Karen says carefully.

"God, you're sexy when you're logical. I've missed you. All I've wanted to do is hold you the way I used to." Harry says leaning down and kissing Karen who's slightly unsure about how fast this is all going.

"I've missed you too. I feel like I've been sleeping alone for six months. Don't ever let me feel that way again. It's been horrible. I'm sure Daniel and David are tired of hearing me complain." Karen says fiddling with the buttons on Harry's shirt.

"They won't have to listen to you complain again. You can always come and talk to me. We must keep talking. Not talking is what got us here in the first place. I'm so sorry about my behaviour, Karen." Harry says seriously as he finally meets her eyes.


	2. Drinks and Relaxation

"Come with me." Harry says as he stands up and pulls Karen with him. He's missed Karen desperately and it's been too long since they've been this close to each other.

"Where are we going?" Karen asks as her body crashes against Harry's.

"We're going to pour ourselves a drink and go sit outside on the backyard swing and just relax until I fall asleep. I'm about eight hours behind everything here. I'm finally starting to feel the jetlag." Harry says as he stands up and pours himself a whiskey. "What am I pouring you?" he asks softly.

"I'll have a gin and tonic. I can't believe we resolved all our issues so quickly." Karen says taking her drink from Harry.

"Well, I'd already resolved my issues because I'd promised myself never to treat you the same way again. I still can't believe I betrayed our marriage so badly. Besides, we've known each other for long enough that we should be able to read each other fairly well." Harry says as he puts his arm around Karen's shoulders. "If you ever need to talk to me about all of this again, please know that you can do that."

"Oh, Harry, I feel so much better now that we've talked. I didn't think I could forgive you, but you have reassured me. I have listened to that Joni Mitchell C.D. so much since you left. It was a lovely gift, actually, but I didn't recognize it at the time. That was a very thoughtful gift from you. It's certainly better than a scarf." Karen says as she and Harry sit on the swing outside. Karen shivers in the cool winter air. "It's cold." She whispers.

"Well, it is the beginning of February. Maybe sitting outside wasn't such a good idea." Harry says as he pulls Karen close to him trying to keep her warm. He loves being able to do this considering he thought he'd be packing his bags right now to move out.

"Why don't we go sit inside by the fire? We'll be warmer and we'll still have some alone time." Karen says as she shivers in Harry's arms. She hates being cold.

"It's sexier, too. We can have much more fun in front of the fire." Harry says as he gives in to Karen's request. She's usually more practical than he is.


	3. The Kids are Home

Karen lies down in front of the fire and Harry sits just behind her. "I wonder when the kids are coming home." She whispers. No matter whether the kids are home or not she's always wondering how they're doing.

"I don't know, but I wish they didn't have to be here tonight. I want you all to myself. I'm so glad to be home." Harry whispers as he strokes Karen's hair. Just at that moment the front door slams and Bernie and Daisy rush into the room.

"I'll go call David and get him and Natalie to take the kids for the night." Karen says as she kisses Harry's cheek.

"I'm glad you and mommy are getting along better, daddy." Daisy says as she sits in her father's lap by the fire. She's always been a daddy's girl.

"Me too, Daisy." Harry says as he gives his daughter a tight squeeze.

"I'm glad you're home, dad." Bernie says quietly as he sits next to his father on the carpet. Normally he's not so demonstrative or verbal. "Mum will be a lot happier now."

"What are you talking about Bernie?" Harry asks as he shifts Daisy's position on his lap. She's getting so big. It won't be long before she can't sit on his lap anymore so he's savouring the moments while he can.

"She cried a lot while you were away. She thought we didn't notice, but we did. She listened to the Joni Mitchell C.D. you got her for Christmas over and over, especially that Both Sides Now song." Bernie sighs and wraps his arms around his knees.

"Oh God. I'm sorry that you kids had to try and deal with that." Harry says as he gives both his kids a hug.

"Hey kids! How would you like to go and stay the night with Uncle David?" Karen asks practically bouncing into the room. She wants to make this as positive as possible.

"I want to stay with you and Daddy." Daisy whines as she clings to her father. She knows something is wrong between them. She's the more sensitive of the two children and usually the more observant.

"Daddy and I need some alone time tonight. So I need the two of you to go pack an overnight bag." Karen says firmly. She doesn't know, or hasn't realized, that her daughter knows more than she's letting on.

"But..." Daisy starts, but Bernie stops her. He's two years older than Daisy and is beginning to understand the importance of relationships, even between his mother and father. Bernie drags Daisy upstairs, before she can say anything else, and they begin to pack an overnight bag.

"Hurry up!" Karen calls up the stairs. "Uncle David is on his way!"

Bernie quickly comes back down the stairs. "Dad, did Mom tell you that Uncle David is getting married to Natalie? He called when he came back from his trip to tell mum." he asks as he zips up his bag.

"No. Well, I'll be damned. I never thought he'd get married." Harry says thoughtfully. David always seemed to be more the bachelor, forever young type.

"Where's Daisy?" Karen asks irritably as she's about to call back up the stairs.

"Don't," Harry says as he stops Karen. "I'll go get her. She was quite emotional earlier when I came home and she came back into the house." Harry climbs the stairs and heads in the direction of Daisy's bedroom. He enjoys the time he has with his daughter immensely. "Daisy?" he calls gently through her bedroom door. He leans against the door and hears her crying. He eases the door open and quietly walks into the room. "Daisy, what's wrong, my darling?" Harry asks as he sits on the edge of the bed and rubs Daisy's back.

"Daddy, are you going to have to move out?" Daisy asks lifting her tear stained face from her pillow.

"Of course not, my love. Whatever gave you that impression?" Harry asks as he pulls her into his lap. She cuddles against him immediately.

"If you and mummy need some alone time doesn't that mean you're going to have a fight? I don't want you to leave! I want you to stay forever!" Daisy wails.

"I'm not leaving, Daisy. I promise! Mummy and I are going to resolve some issues, and we're going to have a drink and a quiet evening. Everything's going to be just fine." Harry says holding his daughter. "Now, let's get your bag packed." Harry dries his daughter's tears and quickly packs a bag before taking Daisy's hand and walking downstairs. He and Daisy have always been close.


	4. Brother-in-laws' Reunion

"Hello Harry! Glad to see you're back!" David says embracing Harry as he and Natalie enter the house. He's still unsure about how to treat his brother-in-law since Karen told him about Harry's previous behaviour.

"Hello David. Congratulations on your engagement." Harry says awkwardly returning the hug. He hopes that David isn't too upset with him.

"Who told you?" David asks suspiciously. He doesn't want the media to know yet. The British media are relentless.

"Bernie." Harry says plainly. David should know by now that his kids can't keep a secret, especially Bernie.

"That's typical. Bernie never could keep a secret. Well, now that you know, how do you feel about being my best man? Now that I know you're back to stay, at least." David asks simply. He wants the family harmony back.

"I'd be honoured Mr. Prime Minister." Harry says teasing his brother-in-law. David and he have always had a strong relationship and he's glad his recent behaviour hasn't changed anything major between them.

"Great! That's one problem solved! C'mon you kids let's go have a party! We're going to have pizza!" David says taking his niece and nephew's overnight bags. "Have a good time tonight you two."

"David, don't keep them up too late." Karen calls as the door shuts on her brother and her children. Her brother always keeps the kids up too late and they're exhausted when they come home and she always has to face the consequences of grumpy children.


End file.
